Forum:Vault of Souls (Speculation)
Feel free to put any speculation you might have about the Vault of Souls into this article, as it is not considered part of the mainspace. Theories In Brisingr (book), Oromis and Eragon spoke of Solembum's prophecy. Oromis stated that they had scried the land for Eldunari, Brom as well, and had not detected even a whisper of one. He concluded Eragon's speculation when he said that the existence of any remaining Eldunari not captured by Galbatorix would be inconceivable. From this hint from Paolini, it will be very interesting to see what happens when Eragon speaks his name to open the vault of souls. While the theory was that this was the place from where Galbatorix, and after Eldest, Murtagh too, obtained their great power, this was proven to be untrue in Brisingr, as it was explained that Galbatorix got his power from the "Heart of Hearts", or Eldunari, of the dragons he killed, but it may be that, since the Heart of Hearts literally traps the soul of the dragon within it, the Vault of Souls is where Galbatorix stores them. It is also possible that Eragon and Saphira will summon the spirits (souls) of Bid'Daum and Eragon I and their Eldunari. In addition, speaking his true name could possibly be the key to opening this Vault of Souls. Further, it is speculated that if Eragon does open the Vault, he will gain the power of the souls trapped within, depriving Galbatorix and Murtagh of the advantage. Alternatively, the souls would escape or he would release them from the open vault and rob Galbatorix and Murtagh of their enhanced abilities. The Vault of Souls is speculated to hold the Eldunari of either/or Bid'Daum (the first dragon in the order of the Riders) or the Eldunari of the white dragon who made the pact with the elves after the Dragon War. Another theory is that by speaking his name, he will call upon Eragon I, his namesake and the first Rider. After some conversation between Eragon and the ghost Eragon, Eragon will be imbued with his namesake's powers, giving him all of the magic the first Eragon knew. It is possible that Eragon will go to the Vault of Souls if he requires immense power for his final fight with Galbatorix in Book 4. Possibly, Kuthian is the name of one of the Forsworn's dragons, since whenever Eragon asks about the rock of Kuthian, he is always answered by the person he asked saying that the word Kuthian rings a bell, but they can't remember where. If it is the name of one of the Forsworn's dragons, it could be Kialandi's dragon, because she is mentioned almost as much as Morzan is, and also, they both start with a "K". This is very unlikely, because then saying "Kuthian" would be giving a name to one of the Forsworn's dragons, which is not possible because of the Banishing of Names. There is a theory that the Vault of Souls could possibly contain Vrael's dragon's Eldunari. Since Vrael was so old and powerful (arguably more powerful than Galbatorix) its only natural his dragon would be equally old and powerful, making that Eldunari a much larger source of power then all of Galbatorix's stolen Eldunari. It could also contain the Eldunari of all the past leader's dragons. It is more likely that this new found power will give Eragon just enough strength to hold his own against Galbatorix, as Galbatorix had already hoarded hundreds of Eldunari. Another theory is that the word, "souls", is similar to spirits. Eragon has already freed two Shades, and the spirits are not ignoring what's going around in Alagaesia. As a reward, Eragon could be transformed into an "Anti-Shade". This unlikely because the spirits of Shades purposely take control of the sorcerer, and as such they are not trapped against their will. Yet another theory is that the vault of souls is inside Eragon's own mind, and that by speaking his true name, he can unlock his full potential. If the Vault of Souls does contain the Eldunari of a dragon which is not already under Galbatorix's control, it would have to be someplace remote, possibly an island beyond Alagaesia or a place protected by powerful magic, for as Oromis tells Eragon in Brisingr, Galbatorix made sure during the fall of the Riders that he found all of the heart of hearts that he possibly could. Since then, Oromis has scoured Alagaesia with his mind, searching for a dragon conciousness. He tells Eragon he never has found anything, which makes it unlikely that Galbatorix missed whatever may be in the Vault. However, because Oromis is crippled in his use of magic, it could affect how well he searches. Oromis's mind is still strong, as he demonstrates by contacting Eragon in Farthen Dur all the way from Ellesmera. The Rock of Kuthian and/or the Vault of Souls could be the star sapphire. Remember that when Saphira repaired the Isidar Mithrim she released a rush of energy into the gem, so much energy that Eragon gasped at the ‘magnitude’. By either speaking his true name or his birth name he could access all the energy she put in the gem. Now she alone couldn’t put in enough magic to beat Galbatorix, but since Eldunari steal energy from magic, hers could have simply done this at a much faster pace, it's unlikely but since when Dragons work magic the results are unmatched it’s possible. That could be why when a dragon works magic the results are so powerful. Also in some point in history someone or some number of beings could have poured a ton of energy into the star rose. The rose is twenty yards across and nearly as thick (as it says in Eragon), sixty feet or 18 meters in diameter so it could easily hold enough energy to beat Galbatorix, and even more so is it’s been magically reinforced. The Vault of Souls could be the energy of dozens of beings or ‘souls’ stored in the star rose. If you reread all the books, the most plausible theory concerns Eragon I. From Eragon (book), we learned that Selena, Eragon's mother, insisted he be called Eragon. Also that she had her fortune told to her by Angela, and that it caused her much distress. In Eldest (book), we learned from Islanzadí that the name Eragon was a name that they rarely bestowed upon their children because of it's power. In Brisingr (book), we learned from Oromis that it was inconceivable for there to be any remaining Eldunari not under Galbatorix's control. There is a slight chance there are some that exist, but considering all the hints and clues from all the books, it most likely has something to do with Eragon I. Maybe as the first Rider, he will give Eragon some power over all the Riders, including Galbatorix and Murtagh. This could include the true name (essence) of what it means to be a Rider. Or, that Eragon I never died and will agree to assist Eragon in defeating Galbatorix. It will be very interesting to see what happens. In Brisingr while Eragon was fighting against the last of the Ra'zac, the creature reveals that Galbatorix almost found the "name". The theory is that Galbatorix had discovered the Rock of Kuthian but unable to open the Vault of Souls. Therefore he tried find the name to open it. The "name" might be Eragon's true name which Galbatorix is unable to figure out. In Oromis's accounting on Eragon's parentage (Brom and Selena), he said that it is unknown where Selena went out for her last mission before she gave birth to Eragon in Carvahall. Selena's last mission could be to find the Rock of Kuthian and the Vault of Souls. Mysteriously, she became ill as a result of her mission and died soon afterwards (After Eragon's birth). As mention above, she insisted that her child should be name "Eragon". It is possible that Selena might discovered the Rock of Kuathian and the Vault of Souls and figured out how to open it (By saying Eragon's true name). Since she was in loved with Brom and had already betrayed the Empire, she kept the secret with her but was unable to tell Brom as he currently on pursuing Hefring. Therefore she named her child "Eragon" in the hope that one day her son would find the Rock of Kuthian/Vault of Souls and that he speak out his true name to open it. Locations A possible location of such a place, taking count that it has to be within the boundaries of Galbatorix's properties, would be the feared mountain, Helgrind. However, Eragon fully explored Helgrind in Brisingr. This is an overstatement, Eragon hardly had time for a lengthy search, as Saphira had told him that men from Dras Leona were riding toward Helgrind. Still surely either the Ra'zac or Galbatorix would have found it during its use by the Ra'zac. In this context, note the relation between the names Vault of Souls and Helgrind, which means Gates of Death (or Gates of Hell). It could be in Doru Araeba, though Galbatorix raided all the dragon spirits of Vroengard, or, more likely, in the mountains of the Hadarac Desert. It may also be in Uru'baen, and the vault itself may be Galbatorix's hoard of dragon hearts. "When all seems lost and your power is insufficient, go to the Rock of Kuthian and speak your name to open the Vault of Souls." -Solembum Since Eragon is most likely weaker than Galbatorix without the Eldunari, the Vault of Souls could be Galbatorix's Eldunari hoard. By speaking his name, he would be able to influence the dragons to act for him. Also in "Eldest", Oromis mentioned that Eragon was a word in the ancient language with the meaning lost. This word might be his true name or perhaps the magical word required to open the Vault of Souls. It may also be the true name of the ancient language itself, giving Eragon immense power and thus helping him to destroy Galbatorix. It is also possible that the Rock of Kuthian may be Uru'Baen because if the Rock of Kuthian/Vault of Souls is Helgrind then Galbatorix would then choose to live in Dras Leona to be closer to the Rock of Kuthian. However, it is not possible for Galbatorix to open the Vault of Souls because he doesn't know his true name. As said above, the Rock of Kuthian may be in Uru'Baen (maybe Kuthian was what it was called before the elves held it) and the Vault of Souls is the place where the king keeps most of the "heart of hearts", and Eragon needs to speak his true name or the names he has been given to the imprisoned dragons and that will give them reason to entrust themselves to Eragon and Saphira so that they will get the advantage that Galbatorix previously had. The Rock of Kuthian could also be the stone forest that Orik showed to Eragon in Brisingr. Eragon goes there, speaks his true name, and the whole forests collapses. Underneath the forest is all the Eldunari. There is also Du Fells Nangoroth (the mountains in the Hadarac desert). On page 575 in Eldest, it says that the wild dragons went there to die, therefore leaving their Eldunari. Note that in the book, it says that the dragons kept there Eldunari. It then says that after there pact with the elves "From then on they took their Eldunari to the place which the elves kept them". It doesn't ever say that the Eldunari were moved from Du Fells Nangoroth so their might be a large amount of ancient Eldunaris there. Also, because they were so old they would be incredibly wise so that would be able to help Eragon more then one of the more recent Eldunari. In Eragon, Eragon stated that the island Vroengard looked liked a "knobby hand", which could mean that the vault could be where the gedwey ignasia is supposed to be on that hand. Another possibility is that the Rock of Kuthian is actually Aren, Eragon's ring. Brom could have found the Rock of Kuthian and sealed away most of its power with his true name. Since Eragon and Brom are so much alike, they may have the same true name and Eragon would be able to access the Vault of Souls through Aren. It would also explain why there was so much energy put into Aren. Eragon could use it to get more power when he is feeling weak. Simiarities The Vault of Souls sounds similar and may be a reference to the Well of Souls in the movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark.